Meditation Now: Inner Peace through Inner Wisdom (S.N. Goenka North American Tour 2002)

S.N. Goenka Tour of the West Report April 10 – May 2

Island of Dhamma
Monuments of Dhamma
Child and the Charcoal
Mataji’s Role
The Householders and the Monks
Price for the Priceless Dhamma
Spreading the Word
Be Careful with Dana Money
Across the Atlantic
Meeting Organizers
May All Beings Be Without Fear
Spirituality in Business: Modern Change Agents and Their Responsibility

A Businessman’s Story
Spirituality for All
A Long Journey
Noon Interviews
Boston, Boston
Herd of Bison (Wild Buffalos)
Vipassana Day
Yoga and Vipassana
The Course for Businesspeople and Administrators
Professionals Serving Vipassana
The Mundane and the Supramundane

Day One (April 10)

Island of Dhamma

“Jarapi dukkha, jarapi dukkha. Old age is misery, old age is misery”, Goenkaji said as he came out of his car at Dhamma Dipa, the Vipassana Centre in Hereford, which was the first stop of his gruelling four month tour of the West. He didn’t look miserable though. He was smiling. And before others could ask him about his journey he asked those waiting to welcome him to the centre, “Are you all happy?” He answered himself, “You must be. You are staying on the Island of Dhamma—Dhamma Dipa.”

Goenkaji and Mataji were travelling for more than sixteen hours before they arrived at Dhamma Dipa.

Day Two (April 11)

Monuments of Dhamma

It was a cold but sunny day in the U.K..  Many meditators and their families met with Goenkaji in the afternoon.

The early spring at Dhamma Dipa had produced full blooms on both of the twin cherry trees in front of the female dormitory.

In his concluding address to the annual meeting of the assistant teachers of Europe Goenkaji said, “All of you are representatives of Dhamma. People will look at your life to judge Vipassana.

“Two qualities are rare in human beings: pubbak±r² (those who serve others selflessly) and kataññ³, katavedi (grateful).

“Pubbak±r²—helping others without expecting anything in return; without expecting money or name or fame. You are here to serve others.

“Sometimes, you may not expect money or name or fame but you expect respect. Or you develop arrogance. This is very harmful for you.

“A branch of a tree that bears fruit comes down due to the weight of the fruit. Similarly a person who develops pañña (wisdom) becomes more humble.

“You got this technique because the Buddha discovered it after developing so many paramis over such a long time. Then you got it in its purity due the fact that the Sangha preserved it in its purity through the millennia in Myanmar and because Sayagyi U Ba Khin, my teacher, had such a strong volition that Vipassana should go to India and then spread round the world.

“When I expressed my doubt to my teacher after he asked me to teach Dhamma in India, ‘Sir, how can an ordinary householder like me, an ordinary businessman like me teach Dhamma? And that to in a country where hardly anybody knows me?’ Sayagyi U Ba Khin laughed aloud and said, ‘Don’t worry. You are not going, I am going.’ Since my first course every time I teach Anapana, I start by saying, ‘O teacher, I am teaching Dhamma on your behalf’. Again when I teach Vipassana, I say ‘I am giving Dhamma as your representative’. You all are also representatives of Sayagyi U Ba Khin.

“I started the Global Pagoda project in Mumbai in India not only to have a huge meditation hall along with an educational display but also as a memorial to the Buddha, as a symbol of gratitude to Myanmar, as a symbol of gratitude to Sayagyi U Ba Khin. The pagoda will also play an educational role and help in informing people of the truth about the Buddha for centuries.

“The Buddha said—Sukh± sanghassa s±maggi, samagg±na½ tapo sukho. Happiness it is when meditators gather together and happiness it is when they meditate together. You are all meditating together here—such great happiness. The Global Pagoda will provide this opportunity to thousands of meditators.

“More importantly, you should all understand that each one of you is a monument of Dhamma. Each one of you is a memorial to Sayagyi U Ba Khin. Every single meditator is a memorial. Each meditator should become a lighthouse of Dhamma. This will happen only when you apply Dhamma in life.”

Day Three (April 12)

Child and the Charcoal

Goenkaji was interviewed in the morning by local BBC Radio station and then the World Service of BBC Radio. Following these interviews he spent the rest of the day meeting individual meditators, trusts and assistant teachers.

In the evening he gave a public talk at the Shire Hall in St Peter’s Square in the nearby town of Hereford. The hall was filled to its capacity and meditators were asked to go to an adjacent room in  order to make space for non-meditators (those who had not yet taken a Vipassana course).

In his talk, Goenkaji explained the simple, universal nature of the technique of Vipassana and how it benefits one and all as it makes one aware of what is happening deep inside about which one has so little knowledge. He gave the example of a child and burning charcoals. The child out of ignorance feels that the burning coals are red toys. Its mother protects the child by preventing it from approaching them. However, when the mother is not around, the child tries to play with the charcoals. The moment he touches them, he withdraws his hands because they burn him. An ignorant child soon learns that these are burning charcoals that harm me if I touch them but we grown-up people think of ourselves as very knowledgeable but we still make the same mistake. Out of ignorance we keep on generating defilements such as anger, hatred, fear, jealousy, lust and we keep on burning inside. With the practice of Vipassana we learn to be aware of what happens inside and by repeated observation and awareness and by repeated practise we learn to come out of the defilements that burn us.

Local newspaper reporters interviewed Goenkaji after the talk. They were curious to know about this new mental training technique that was taught at a centre in their area.

One reporter asked Goenkaji, “For those who believe in God Almighty, it is the God Almighty who is going to give them good qualities; to make them compassionate etc. You, on the other hand, ask the individual to take the responsibility to purify his/her own mind. Why not just pray to God Almighty to do it?” Goenkaji smiled and answered, “God helps those who help themselves! Learn to help yourself in the right way by not corrupting your mind and you will find that you are getting help from every direction.”

Day Four (April 13)

Mataji’s Role

Meditators from all over Europe came to Dhamma Dipa to join the one-day retreat. Goenkaji gave Vipassana to more than 400 meditators.

This was followed by private interviews with meditators and a couple of journalists.

One of the journalists asked Goenkaji why Mataji also willingly accompanies him and helps him on all his arduous journeys. Goenkaji told the journalist that it is because she has benefited and wants to share the benefits with others. She helps in creating a helpful atmosphere by practising metta while Goenkaji answers questions from the audience or while he gives a Dhamma talk. So many spiritual gurus have misused their position in the past to exploit their female disciples. Her presence alongside Goenkaji has always inspired confidence in women. When some women in India don’t feel comfortable talking to Goenkaji about their personal problems due to modesty, they go to her. She helps in many ways. She looks after Goenkaji’s needs and assists him. Her working together with Goenkaji also helps dispel a big misconception in the mind of many (especially in India) that the Buddha’s teaching is not suitable for householders.

Day Five (April 14)

The Householders and the Monks

The tradition for which Goenkaji carries the torch today is primarily a householders’ tradition. So many of the Vipassana meditators wanted their families to meet Goenkaji and many who have young children also wanted their children to meet Goenkaji. On this morning Goenkaji met the families of Vipassana meditators.

But the big event of the day was a Sangha Dana. The Sangha is the repository of Dhamma. It kept the Dhamma as a living tradition through the last two millennia. The purity of the teaching, purity maintained by some bhikkhus in a chain of teacher and disciple, has ensured that the teaching has kept its universal application and universal appeal even today. Those who benefit from Vipassana feel gratitude to the Sangha for that. They also feel respect for the Sangha that has renounced everything to dedicate their lives to practicing the Buddha’s teaching. Venerable monks were invited to Dhamma Dipa where they were first served food and then given other requisites. Hundreds of lay people were present to take the opportunity to earn merits by serving the monks.

Goenkaji then spoke to the gathering. In his talk he said he was attracted to the teaching because of his saintly teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin, because it gives result here and now, because of the non-sectarian nature of the Dhamma, and because he found nothing objectionable in the teaching of the Buddha.

Day Six (April 15)

Price for the Priceless Dhamma

When Vipassana started taking roots in U.K., Birmingham had a small but dedicated group of students. Goenkaji had accepted an invitation to talk at the University of Birmingham during this tour. He travelled to the University to give a talk at the Avon Room there.

He exhorted the audience as he always does in his discourses to give a trial to this benevolent technique. He said that there is no price for the teaching or for the lodging and board at the Vipassana courses but that, nevertheless, “You have to pay the price. Ten valuable days of your invaluable life!”

It was almost nine when Goenkaji left Birmingham. He arrived in London after twelve in the midnight. Mrs and Mr Harshadbhai Patel, at whose house he was going to reside during his stay in London, were waiting with their sons to receive Goenkaji and Mataji. It had been one more long day on the tour.

Day Seven (April 16)

Spreading the Word

Today, Goenkaji appeared on the Jimmy Young Show on the BBC. The host was interested in knowing about effect of Vipassana on prisoners and on professionals. Goenkaji gavet a short talk in the studio but many comments and emails continued to come in as the show continued.

In the evening he gave a public talk at the Kadwa Patidar Centre in Harrow, London. He had spoken at the venue last time he visited U.K. The audience was multiracial and multiethnic. There were many people of Indian origin. Goenkaji spoke for thirty minutes each in English and Hindi.

In these talks Goenkaji remarked that religion without spirituality is like an empty container; like a light-house that has no light. He pointed out that so many conflicts are due to attachment to the outer shell of religion while ignoring valuable inner core.

Dhamma is a way of how not to harm oneself and how not to harm others. It is a way out of misery.

He gave the example of Duryodhan from the story of Mahabharata. Duryodhan used to say, “I know quite well what is right but what to do, I don’t have propensity for it and I know quite well what is wrong but what to do, I have propensity for it.” We all are like Duryodhan. We know at the intellectual level what is right but still we keep on repeating the same mistakes because our mind is not under our control, because it is not pure.

A saint is a saint—whether Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian or Jewish. A Muslim saint of Punjab said, “Unless you know yourself, you cannot know the God Almighty.”

All saints have been teaching people to live a peaceful and happy life. The Buddha gave a practical path to achieve this. Modern science is researching the truth outside. However, the Buddha said that within this fathom-long body you find the truth—the cause of our misery and the way out of misery.

Day Eight (April 17)

Be Careful with Dana Money

Goenkaji gave Vipassana on a one-day course at the Kadwa Patidar Hall.

He spoke to trustees, teachers and senior Dhamma workers in the evening. In his talk, he emphasized that we must be careful with the expenses at our centres. Even if one centre gets big donations we should still be careful with the expenses as extravagant expenses or buildings in one centre are likely to be copied by other centres. The teachers and trustees should try to get the essential facilities first. Every trust should try if possible not to get in debt. One should be even more careful with dana money than with one’s own money.

Day Nine (April 18)

Across the Atlantic

Goenkaji and Mataji flew to New York. They were received by a few meditators at the airport in New York. The members of the party were accommodated in different buildings and it took some time for everyone to settle down for the evening.

Day Ten (April 19)

Meeting Organizers

Goenkaji dealt with pending correspondence that had accumulated over the previous fortnight. There were many messages from all over the world to which he responded. In the evening, he gave interviews to organizers of the Spirit in Business conference and some other meditators. Bennet Miller a Vipassana meditator and an award winning film-maker who has undertaken to capture the tour on film met briefly with Goenkaji. Eilona Ariel of Karuna Films was also present for the meeting.

Day Eleven (April 20)

May All Beings Be Without Fear

A one-day course was organized at Borough of Manhattan College. Hundreds of meditators gathered there on this rainy day for a one-day meditation session. Goenkaji gave Vipassana and then went to visit ground zero in lower Manhattan, which was within a few minutes drive of the venue for the one-day course. Goenkaji practised metta-bhavana and chanted (in Hindi), “Is Mahanagar ke saare prani sukhi surakshit hoy re.” (lit. May all beings of this great city be happy and secure.)

Day Twelve (April 21)

Spirituality in Business: Modern Change Agents and Their Responsibility

In the morning Goenkaji gave the Keynote speech at Spirit in Business conference in the Sheraton New York in Manhattan. He first explained what is spirituality and then went on to explain why spirituality is so important for the businesspeople. “At one time kings had most of the power and were the biggest influence on society. Now the politicians, administrators and businesspeople have that position. Good and bad qualities percolate from the top. Therefore it is very important that the businesspeople live a moral and righteous life; for their own good and for the good of others.

“For a religion, spirituality is a must but for spirituality, organized religion is not a must. Spirituality doesn’t require the sectarian crutches. But for any religion a base of spirituality is mandatory. Without it an organized religion is lifeless. It is like an empty vessel studded with precious stones, which may look beautiful from outside but from which the nectar of spirituality has drained out. It is like a huge magnificent lighthouse from which the light is missing and which is engulfed in darkness itself. How can it show the right path to people?

“Buddha taught how to develop the four sublime qualities of karuna, mudita, upekkha and metta When one sees a miserable person, instead of thinking that it’s his own doing or his own karma, one generates compassion—karuna. When one sees a successful person, instead of developing jealousy one develops sympathetic joy—mudita. When one faces an adverse situation, instead of losing the balance of the mind one remains calm and equanimous—upekkha. And one feels selfless love for every being everywhere—metta These are the qualities of a spiritual person.

“Every businessman should try to develop these qualities for his own good as well as for the good of others.”

Goenkaji narrated his own story of how he came in contact with Dhamma and expressed joy that so many from the next generation of business people are showing keen interest in spirituality.

Josh Baran, a renowned publicist, interviwed Goenkaji briefly. He brought up the question of celibacy among the Christian priests and the current media attention alleged misbehaviour of priests within the church. Goenkaji said that Vipassana is a tool that has helped many to live a celibate life naturally since Vipassana helps one to face lust without suppressing it or without giving it a free licence; by taking out lust at the root level. Goenkaji said that every Catholic priest should aspire to imbibe the qualities of Jesus in his life—Vipassana is a tool that makes it easy to do so.

He gave press interviews in his room later. A Dutch Television Station also interviewed him. The questions were about the technique of Vipassana.

Day Thirteen (April 22)

A Businessman’s Story

When Goenkaji and Mataji arrived in New York, it was very warm and humid, almost oppressively so. However, the temperature soon started dropping drastically and it became very cold. Goenkaji’s residence was close to the Central Park and he took his morning walk in the Park in spite of the cold weather.

Later in the day he went to the Sheraton and gave interviews to various media personnel. In the afternoon he gave a talk on Vipassana and Anapana to the conference participants. The room where gave the talk was full with people. After talking about the Vipassana courses, Goenkaji told his own story—how Dhamma brought so much harmony in his life, how his relations with his workers improved and how he started sharing his profits with them. Vipassana helped him to face the vicissitudes of life. When the businesses were nationalized in Myanmar instead of feeling depressed and dejected, he felt joy that now he could give more time to Dhamma. He came home on the day when the businesses were suddenly nationalized, and started working on an article on Dhamma that he was writing. He felt carefree. He saw for himself how the biggest loss could not shake him. Dhamma gave him strength to remain unshaken in the face of ups and downs of life.

Following his talk, some of his students from the 70’s who have started teaching on their own also came to pay respect to him. He was happy to see them again and happy at their worldly success.

Day Fourteen (April 23)

Spirituality for All

On the last day of the conference, again Goenkaji talked about spirituality in Business. He said, “In my part of the world in the past if a natural calamity such as famine etc. befell a state, people would often blame it on the king saying that since the king was immoral the subjects have to face the consequences. The king would then undertake to live an upright and righteous life.

“It is said, ‘As the king is so the subjects will be’. Therefore the leaders of the society have a greater responsibility. They also have greater opportunity to influence the people.

“When I started taking first serious steps on the path of Dharma, I learned from experience that spirituality is not a domain of any particular class of society. A priest and a labourer; an academician or an illiterate person; a billionaire or a poor person all could be equally spiritual.

“No other people have to interact with society as much as businesspeople and political leaders. Businessmen have to deal with staff, factory labour, customers, government agencies etc. As they become more spiritual their behaviour becomes gentler and they start winning over people. Business requires sharp minds able to take quick decisions. When the mind is calm and unperturbed, it takes better decisions.

“Spirituality and good business go hand in hand. Both contribute not only to the well-being of owners, shareholders, staff and customers but, equally important, also to the real happiness of the businessman himself.

“A businessman is always in a relentless race to earn more and more money. At some point he also starts feeling that now along with money he must also start earning name and fame. And with this desire he or she starts giving money in charity. Such charity cannot give you joy. How to give donations is a sublime art. True charity is done without expecting anything in return. One gives away money or serves others to deflate one’s ego; not to inflate one’s ego. The whole attitude should be how to serve more and more people. That is all.”

Day Fifteen (April 24)

A Long Journey

Unforeseen delays including those due to traffic jams made the trip from New York to the site of ten-day Executive meditation course at the Eastover Resort in Lenox, Massachusetts a long one. The motor home in which he would travel throughout North America couldn’t arrive in time at the meeting point at the Welcome Centre of Connecticut state. All had to get out in the open from their cars and eat lunch there. Eventually the motor home broke free from the traffic jam and reached the Welcome Centre around 3 pm.

Goenkaji had left New York in the morning but did not reach the Eastover Resort until late evening.

It was a tiring journey that involved a lot of packing and unpacking; unanticipated stops on the road and by the end of the day everyone was feeling quite tired.

However, Goenkaji had to get ready quickly to give Anapana on the course in which many business leaders and administrators had joined. After Anapana was over, the students left the hall and there was a brief metta session for all the volunteers serving the course.

Day Sixteen (April 25)

Noon Interviews

It was a sunny day but it was still cold. Goenkaji took his morning walk as usual. Throughout the tour, usually one or more of the senior meditators, assistant teachers or teachers accompany Goenkaji and Mataji on some of the morning and evening walks. This gives Goenkaji an opportunity to inspect the facilities at the centres and to discuss Dhamma activities in the respective areas with the senior people there.

Day one of the course is hectic as students are still settling in. John and Gail Beary were assisting Goenkaji in the capacity of teachers on the course. Many assistant teachers and Dhamma workers had worked hard to put together this temporary course site.

Goenkaji decided to continue his usual custom of giving private interviews to students at noon. Year after year throughout whether he is staying at centres or at temporary campsites, he is available at this time to meditators who come and meet him in groups or privately to clarify their practice or to seek his guidance on organizational matters.

Day Seventeen (April 26)

Boston, Boston

Goenkaji and Mataji traveled for three hours to reach Boston where a public talk was scheduled. They travelled in the motor home but had to be seated all the time while travelling because the vehicle swayed too much. It stopped only once to allow Goenkaji to stretch a bit.

The vehicle was parked in a garden parking lot and it was two in the afternoon before Goenkaji could eat his lunch. Local meditators brought food for Goenkaji and Mataji and all those travelling with them. The discourse at the auditorium of Brookline High School was attended by quite a few parents of young meditators who wanted their parents to listen to Goenakaji in person. It was good for the parents and other relatives to listen to this simple practical wisdom. Some of the parents who had not taken a course came backstage after the talk to meet Goenkaji.

After the talk one of the questions was, “I am a Vipassana meditator. How should I attract parents to Vipassana?” Goenkaji answered, “By your own example. Be a good son, be a good daughter. Be a good human being. When your parents see that you are leading a peaceful and happy life they will certainly be attracted to Dhamma. The peace and harmony in you will attract them to Dhamma. You must make sure that you serve your parents. It is your first Dhamma, your first duty.”

Later, Goenkaji ate dinner in the vehicle before starting the return journey. It was 12.30 in the night when he arrived back at course site in the Eastover Resort.

Day Eighteen (April 27)

Herd of Bison (Wild Buffalos)

In view of the long travel (about three hours each way) and his inability to stay over at Boston the previous day, Goenkaji could not be present at the one-day course in Boston. What was a loss for Boston meditators was a gain for meditators in Eastover course.

He gave private interviews to many students on the course during the afternoon.

Old students in the area around the course site also continue to meet him. Some of them travelled hours just to meet him for a few minutes.

The evening saw a herd of bison coming out near the course site to graze. These quiet, huge animals looked so ancient due to dark hair on their body. Goenkaji was out on his evening walk after a private interview at the time. Someone informed him that these animals were very common all over the country at one time and were killed in such large numbers that their sighting is not common these days. If Goenkaji had never seen this animal before, he got an addition to the list of ‘all beings’ that he wishes well in his metta practice!

Day Nineteen (April 28)

Vipassana Day

Whenever Goenkaji is at a centre or on a course site, he teaches Vipassana himself on the morning of the fourth day of the course. He kept that practice in Eastover too.

Throughout the tour, those meditators who have taken many courses but have not earlier participated in a course in which Goenkaji is present have an opportunity to learn Anapana or Vipassana from Goenkaji himself either in a one-day course or a ten-day course.

On a ten-day course a student works on Anapana meditation for more than three days to calm down the mind enough to be able to practise Vipassana meditation. Hence there is some anticipatory excitement on Day 4. When a new student learns Vipassana a window to the truth inside opens for him. As Goenkaji says, “One takes a dip in the Ganges of Dhamma for the first time in life.” What a fortune when a meditator does it in the presence of the principal teachers, Goenkaji and Mataji.

Day Twenty (April 29)

Yoga and Vipassana

Goenkaji’s health was a major concern during form the planning stage of the current tour. Today his assistants felt that they may have to cancel an interview, as the schedule was getting busier and busier with new engagements being added on the way. However, Goenkaji insisted on keeping the appointments to which he had committed earlier. Rich Balow a reporter for the Boston Globe came to interview Goenkaji.

Noon interviews with students in the course were followed by a brief meeting with the Dhamma workers.

In the evening Goenkaji gave a talk at the Kripalu Yoga Centre which is the largest yoga centre in the U.S. In his talk, he said that the ancient country of India had given two invaluable gifts to the world—yoga and Vipassana. Yoga has been used around the world by people from all religious and socio-cultural backgrounds for physical health. Vipassana is also being increasingly accepted around the world by people from diverse backgrounds. Both the techniques don’t involve any conversion from one organized religion to another organized religion.

He also answered many questions from the audience. When someone asked him about the necessity of doing a full ten-day course, Goenkaji laughed and said that this is the age of instant products and instant spirituality but it needs continuity of practice to work at the deepest levels of mind. One gets results immediately and at all times but one has to work sincerely for it.

Another person asked about the importance of meditating together. Goenkaji replied that it was important to meditate alone and it was also important to meditate in a group. Both have their advantages. When one takes a serious long retreat, solitary meditation is essential and it is great happiness to meditate once in a while with big groups.

Artist's View of the Grand Vipassana PagodaEvery word of the Buddha is based on truth that can be experienced. When the construction of Global Pagoda at Essel Plateau at Gorai in Mumbai is completed, it will seat about eight thousand meditators and we will have further experience of the words of the Buddha when he said that it is great happiness when meditators get together and great is the happiness when they meditate together—Sukh± sanghassa s±maggi, samagg±na½ tapo sukho.

Day Twenty-One (April 30)

The Course for Businesspeople and Administrators

No sooner had Goenkaji returned from the meditation hall after giving private interviews to meditators than the phone rang. It was the reporter from Wellness magazine from Illinois. Goenkaji is scheduled to give a talk at the Wellness centre later in the tour. The magazine wanted to carry an interview with Goenkaji in their magazine before that. The reporter talked to Goenkaji on phone for almost half an hour.

In the late afternoon, a staff photographer from the Boston Globe came over to take Goenkaji and Mataji’s photographs as well as photographs of the hall that was used as a meditation hall for the course.

The course attracted a fair amount of curiosity in the press because so many influential businessmen, high level professionals and administrators had come to the ten-day residential course. More than hundred had joined the course and were working very seriously.

The day before a reporter had asked Goenkaji whether he changes the format and content of the courses to suit diverse populations such as prison inmates, businesspeople etc. that he offers courses for. Goenkaji said that the format and the content was the same for all. “The Buddha’s teaching is universal. It is equally applicable to all. Human beings are human beings. They become miserable because of the unwholesome habit pattern of the mind and when they start observing the truth inside they start coming out of that unwholesome habit pattern.”

Day Twenty-One (May 1)

Professionals Serving Vipassana

Dr. Paul Fleischman, a renowned psychiatrist and a Vipassana teacher, has been entrusted by Goenkaji to make guidelines as to how Vipassana organization can serve those who have mental problems. He and his wife Susan (also a Vipassana teacher) came to meet Goenkaji and sought his guidance on various issues involved. He later had a meeting with Thomas Crisman, an attorney specializing in Intellectual Property Rights and a Vipassana teacher, about organizational matters.

Day Twenty-Two (May 2)

The Mundane and the Supramundane

Goenkaji had been on the road for more than three weeks now. He has to take time for mundane things like getting a hair-cut. However, busy the schedule may be, these mundane matters have to be taken care of. One of the difficulties of those who organize Goenkaji’s tours is that these things take time but don’t show on the tour programme!

Goenkaji had just finished an interview on telephone with “the Straight” before he left go get a hair cut and he came back just in time for the noon interviews for which many meditators were waiting in the meditation hall.

In the evening the owner of the resort where the course was organized came to meet Goenkaji along with her daughter and one of the managers.

At 9 pm Goenkaji went to the meditation hall again to answer questions from meditators. The noon interviews are private—others students don’t have opportunity to listen to Goenkaji’s answers to various questions but when Goenkaji answers questions at the end of the day, other meditators are allowed to stay in the hall. All meditators stayed on in the hall to listen to Goenkaji’s answers to various questions. Questions varied. Some sought guidance about how to apply Vipassana in life and some asked questions about the technique.

One meditator, who had done a ten-day course earlier and had come again, said, “I have benefited a lot from Vipassana. In the past I was used to sleeping late in the morning. But now I get up early every morning to mediate. Am I getting addicted to Vipassana?” Goenkaji laughed and said, “One calls something addiction when it is harmful. Your regular practice is helpful for you therefore it is not an addiction. Don’t worry. Keep on meditating every day and keep on living a happy life. When you find that your practice is becoming weak join a retreat. You may even join as a part-time student.”

Another meditator asked about religious fanaticism and terrorism and whether it was because of the certain religious teaching. Goenkaji answered that when some so-called followers of a religion go astray and indulge in inhuman acts, they bring a bad name to their religion.